India, April 3 -- A powerful 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan on Friday night, sending strong tremors across North India and triggering panic among residents.

The sudden jolts forced people to rush out of homes and office buildings as the ground shook unexpectedly.

Even moderate earthquakes in the Hindu Kush region can impact large parts of northern India due to geological sensitivity.

Friday night's tremors once again exposed how vulnerable densely populated urban areas are to seismic activity.

Tremors were felt across Delhi-NCR and several northern cities, including Noida, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Dehradun, Srinagar, Poonch and Udhampur.

Tremors were also reported in parts of Pakistan, including Isl...